Cue-tip fastener.



T. N. DE WITT.

CUE TIP FASTENER.

APPLICATION nun JAN.29. 1912.

Patented May 28, 1912.

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UNITED STATES, PATENT @FFIQIE.

TRAVICE N. DE wrrr, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

CUE-TIP FASTENER.

To all whom a may concern Be it known that I, TRAVIOE N. DE WITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cue-Tip Fasteners; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to games and toys, and more especially to billiard devices; and the object of the same is to produce an improved cue tip fastener,

To this end the invention consists in the details of construction hereinafter more fully described and as shown inthe drawings wherein Figure 1 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the tip of a billiard cue, showing this improved fastener with all its parts assembled. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail of the grapple. Fig. 8 is a perspective detail of the cue-tip. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the lining sleeve or tube.

In the drawings the letter C designates the smaller end of a wooden cue to which is ordinarily attached'a leather tip, and in the present case the letter L designates a leather button cemented or otherwise secured to a fiber disk F and both being accurately ground or otherwise formed on their periphery so that they shall be circumferentially of the same size as the smallest part of the one tip 0.

My improved fastener is designed for the purpose of holding the tip (which comprises the leather and the fiber) removably upon the end of the one, so that when the former becomes worn or hardened in use it can be detached and replaced by a new one.

Coming now more particularly to the present invention, the fastener proper consists of two principal parts of metal which.

I will call respectively the sleeve and the grapple. The sleeve comprises a short tube 1 of a size to permit it to be inserted into a tubular bore 2 which is formed in the end of the one tip C, and of less length than the depth of said bore so that it will not extend completely to the bottom of the same; and a nut 3 which is brazed or otherwise secured, or possibly formed integral within, the inner end of said tube so that the tube and the nut are practically one member consti- Speeification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 29, 1912.

Patented May 28,1912. Serial No. 674,031.

tuting the sleeve. I preferably punch indentations 4 in the wall of the tube near the outer end of the same, so'that the burs 5 thereof are driven out-ward into the wood of whlch the cue tip is composed, and the sleeve is thereby held rigidly within the bore 2. The other member of this improved fastening is called a grapple because its function is to grab the tip removably. It comprises a fork 10 preferably having at least three arms, and the tips 11 of the latter are inturned obliquely as shown so thatthey may enter slots 12 properly disposed in the inner face of the fiber disk F and all by preference converging slightly toward its center; andthe crotch of the fork is secured to or continued integrally into a screw 13 whose threads are such that it is adapted to engage those within the nut 3. The proportion of parts relative to that of the part of the other member is such that before the shoulder 14.- at the base of the fork strikes upon the upper end of the nut 3 the mouth 6 of the tube 1 contacts with the outer side of the fork-arms and the latter are therefore forced axially inward, with the result that their tips 11 are positively forced into the slots 12 and the one tip is held reliably in place with the edge of the rear face of the fiber disk F contacting at 20 with the extremity of the one tip G around the bore therein. This I consider an important feature of my invention, for the reason that in a large proportion of shots the tip of the one is directed at one edge against the ball being shot, and the reliable annular contact at 20 between the fiber disk and the end of the cue greatly assists the player in making such shots, which are called English shots because they spin the ball as it is projected forward. WVhen plain shots are made, however, where the center of the one tip impinges against the face of the ball, a certain yielding action to the tip is permitted by reason of the fact that its center is not rigidly supported, and in fact is not materially stiffened by the fiber disk F. Therefore the use of a tip secured in this manner gives the player the option of making a shot with that part of the tip which stands solidly over the Wall of the cue or that part of it which stands over the cavity within its bore, and in neither case will the shot interfere with the engagement of the tips 11 of the grapple.

In practice the one is furnished the user with a number of the tips which are preferably ground to the same size as the smaller end of the cue, although this detail is not absolutely necessary, but the rear face of each fiber disk F is provided with the oblique slot 12 as described. i/Vhen now it becomes desirable to replace the cue tip for any rea son, it is necessary only to grasp it between the thumb and finger and rotate itbodily to the left with respect to the cue; this movement carries the tips 11 of the fork-arms 10 around with the one tip, and the screw 13 is slowly withdrawn from the nut 3, the back of the fork-arms gradually moving off the mouth 6 of the tube 1 until their tips 11 automatically spring apart and disengage the slots 12 in the fiber disk F. The imperfect cue tip is then thrown away and another put in its place, its slots 12 engaged with the tips 11 on the fork-arms 10, and the entire grapple is put into position within the sleeve in a manner described above. As the one tip is rotated to the right it turns the grapple with it and the engagement of the screw 13 with the nut 3 draws both the grapple and tip downward until the back of the fiber disk contacts firmly at 20 with the end of the one C, by which time the forkarms have been borne reliably inward and the cue tip is held upon their tips 11 as shown.

Thus it will be seen that I have produced a cue tip fastener which is extremely simple and strong, and which holds the cue tip upon the cue in such manner that these two parts stand in reliable contact around their edges with the advantage set forth above.

I do not limit myself to the precise details proportions of parts may beileft to the manufacturer.

What is claimed as new is:

The herein described cuetip fastener comprising a one having a socket bored in its extremity, a tubular sleeve fitting closely within the same and having near its mouth outwardly projecting indentations punched through its body and into the wooden shell of the cue, a nut fast within the inner end of said sleeve, and a grapple having a screw at its inner end engaging said nut and a plurality of normally divergent fork-arms at its outer end provided with obliquely inturned tips; combined with the cue-tip proper including a leather face mounted on a fabric disk of a size to cover the end of the one and rest on the extremity of its wall, the inner face of said disk being provided with slots converging toward the leather and disposed so as to receive the tips of said forkarms, all as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

TRAVICE N. DE WITT.

Witnesses:

L. O. HILTON, G. W. MUDD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

